Why It’s So Dangerous To Pretend That Racism Doesn’t Exist
Societal issues of racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia regularly flood headlines of news outlets and social media platforms, making it nearly unbelievable for anyone to vow complete ignorance of any of them. Yet plenty of people seem surprised when they witness intolerance firsthand.
Well-meaning singer Sam Smith is an unfortunate example of this. The white pop star recently tweeted about the racist experience of a black friend in London. The intention of calling out the story in and of itself is fine, important even, but the way he framed it is what got him into trouble. He referred to the incident as a shocking and rare occurrence, when in fact everyday racism still holds a firm grip on society (as it always has).
Twitter went crazy over Smith’s tweets, fans and critics alike called him out and I have to agree with them. His tweets read like a man running a painless-childbirth campaign learning that that women actually experience excruciating pain during childbirth.
Yes, with over four million Twitter followers and more than a few Grammy and Brits awards, Smith stands in a better position than most to “shine some sort of light on it [racism],” as he put it. But caring doesn’t mean that he knows what he’s talking about……
This article was first published in the SLANT. To read the full article please click on:
